Dwayne Allen Dail celebrates after becoming the 207th
 person nationwide to be exonerated by DNA. He was
 represented by Christine Mumma (left).
Life in prison is a nightmare for those who commit crimes. Imagine what it’s like for those who are innocent of the crimes they are locked up for committing.

The North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, which coordinates the Innocence Projects'® at each of North Carolina’s law schools (Campbell, Charlotte, Elon, Duke, NCCU, UNC, and Wake Forest), is dedicated to investigating post-conviction claims of actual innocence from unrepresented North Carolina inmates. The Center is part of the National Innocence Network coordinated by the Innocence Project® at The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.

Wrongful convictions can be caused by a myriad of factors, including mistaken eyewitness identification, false confessions, the use of unreliable jailhouse “snitches,” tunnel-vision in investigations, misconduct, and ineffective representation by defense attorneys.


 Darryl Hunt (center) won his freedom in December
 2003 thanks to the efforts of a legal team that
 included lead attorney Mark Rabil (center) and
 Assistant Appellate Defender Ben Dowling-Sendor.
With the help of law students and Innocence Project® faculty advisors, after an intensive review and screening process, we analyze case materials, interview witnesses, locate physical evidence that can be tested, and work with inmates to determine if something went wrong and what we can do to restore an innocent person’s freedom.

The Center is also dedicated to promoting systemic reform that will increase the reliability of convictions and decrease the amount of time it takes to obtain the freedom of those who are innocent. To that end, we organize educational forums, train law students who represent the future of our legal system, and participate in statewide and national policymaking initiatives.

While people of color and those with limited resources are more likely to be wrongfully convicted, no one is exempt. We hope this website will serve to bring the problem of wrongful convictions, as well as its solutions, to the forefront. We can all make a difference - the first step is to become informed.

Welcome to our website.